Beverage bottle carrier

ABSTRACT

A one-piece bottle carrier formed of sheet material for confining and transporting returnable beverage bottles in group formation in which the individual bottles are isolated from one another in individual cells. The carrier comprises a container having a longitudinal, centralized partition or bottle separator including an upstanding hand grip portion. The longitudinal partition includes transverse separators which, in combination with the longitudinal partition, delineate the individual cells to prevent contact between the bottles. The carriers are furnished in flat condition and the transverse separators hingedly flip to their right angular positions relative to the longitudinal partition in an automatic manner as the assembled flat blank is erected from the flat, assembled condition to form the cells which prevent chipping or damage to the bottles.

Unite States Patent 91 Wright 1 Mar. 27, 1973 [541 BEVERAGE BOTTLECARRIER [75] Inventor: William ll. Wright, Cincinnati, Ohio The C. W.Zumbiel Company, Cincinnati, Ohio [22] Filed: Mar. 4, 1971 [21] Appl.No.: 121,035

[73] Assignee:

[52] U.S. Cl ..220/113, 220/115 [51] Int. Cl. ..B65d 75/00 [58] Field ofSearch ..220/ll1,113,115,l12, 114; 229/52 BC [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 3,572,544 3/1971 Forrer ..229/52 BC 3,084,8314/1963 Arneson ..220/113 3,037,662 6/1962 Gish ....220/1 15 3,335,9058/1967 Arneson .220/115 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLlCATlONS 262,875 9/1967Austria ..220/113 Primary Examiner-Joseph R. LeClair AssistantExaminer-Stephen P. Garbe Att0rneyWood, l-lerron & Evans [57] ABSTRACT Aone-piece bottle carrier formed of sheet material for confining andtransporting returnable beverage bottles in group formation in which theindividual bottles are isolated from one another in individual cells.The carrier comprises a container having a longitudinal, centralizedpartition or bottle separator including an upstanding hand grip portion.The longitudinal partition includes transverse separators which, incombination with the longitudinal partition, delineate the individualcells to prevent contact between the bottles. The carriers are furnishedin flat condition and the transverse separators hingedly flip to theirright angular positions relative to the longitudinal partition in anautomatic manner as the assembled flat blank is erected from the flat,assembled condition to form the cells which prevent chipping or damageto the bottles.

12 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures PATEHTEQmamm SHEET 10F 5 INVENTOR.

PATENTEBHARNHB 3,722,738

SHEET 2 0F 5 INVENTOR.

BY /W BEVERAGE BOTTLE CARRIER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Bottlecarriers of one-piece construction, having longitudinal and transverseseparators to protect the individual bottles of a group (for example, ofsix or eight bottles, are known in the art as six-packs or eightpacks).The typical carrier comprises a container, a longitudinal partition orseparator, with cross straps connecting the longitudinal partition tothe side walls of the container. Carriers of this type include a handleportion rising upwardly from the central partition and having an openingto serve as a grip for hand transport.

While the longitudinal partition prevents contact and consequent marringof the rows of bottles in the compartments on opposite sides of thepartition, the cross straps do not. In other words the cross strapsextend across the top of the container not downwardly into thecontainer, therefore ordinarily there is contact between the individualbottles confined in the compartments on each side of the longitudinalpartition, with attendant marring or chipping of the returnable bottlesafter prolonged handling.

One-piece paper board carriers having transverse separators have beenproposed in the past, one example being disclosed in the patent to E. L.Arneson U.S. Pat. No. 3,084,831, issued on Apr. 9, 1963 in which thetransverse separators are adhesively secured to the cross straps onopposite sides of the longitudinal separator. Other carriers havingtransverse separators have also been proposed but differ structurallyfrom the type here involved.

The present application is directed to a carrier having six compartments(six pack) for carrying a group of six segregated bottles. A carrierhaving eight bottle compartments (eight pack) is disclosed in acopending application of William H. Wright, Ser. No. 138050, filed onApr. 28, 1971, to which attention is invited.

One of the primary objectives of the invention has been to provide asimplified six-pack bottle carrier formed from a one-piece sheet blankhaving a longitudinal separator or partition dividing the carrier intotwo longitudinal compartments, with a plurality of transverse separatorsforming a part of the longitudinal separators, whereby, after theone-piece blank has been folded and glued, the transverse separatorshinge about their scorelines in an automatic manner and flip into thelongitudinal compartment and extend outwardly in cantilever fashion fromthe longitudinal partitions thereby to delineate individual bottle cellswithin the container.

According to this concept, the one-piece blank, after having been foldedand adhesively secured along the several score and severance lines,resides in a flat knock-down state for shipment. The carrier includestransverse straps connecting the side walls with the central partitionor separator, the carrier being erected by applying pressure to theopposite ends of the flat carrier, thereby spreading the side wallsoutwardly in toggle fashion, and at the same time bringing the end wallsand cross straps to a right angular position.

Each transverse separator delineated in the longitudinal partition, hasa portion adhesively connected to one of the cross straps. Therefore,the transverse separators, which are formed by severance and scorelinesin the central partition, also are forced to the right angular positionwith the cross straps (by reason of their connection to the transverseseparators, at one side, to the transverse straps). Therefore, the freehalf of the transverse separators hinge or flip to a position at rightangles into one of the longitudinal compartments and extend transverselyin cantilever fashion across the carrier, with no attachment to thelongitudinal partition other than hinge lines. This constructiontherefore simplifies the gluing and assembly operations.

Moreover, the free cantilever portion of each separator includes anupwardly inclined outer edge which provides a camming action withrespect to the bottom of the bottles to force the free portions to thecorrect right angular position in the event they are sprung duringerection.

The folding and gluing of the one-piece sheet blank may be carried outby appropiate machinery and' the completed blank thus formed is readyfor shipment to the user in its flat state to be erected by applicationof endwise pressure to the carrier. appropriate Another object has beento conserve sheet material by providing the sheet blank in which thecut-out and hinged transverse bottle separators of the invention areformed directly in the panel which constitutes the longitudinalseparator, the arrangement being such that the cut-out hinged portions,delineating the transverse separators, have no substantial weakeningeffect with respect to the longitudinal partition.

The panels, which in part, form the longitudinal partition, are locatedon diagonally opposite sides of the sheet blank, and the score andseverance lines for the transverse separators of the invention are alsoformed in the longitudinal separator panel. The transverse separators ofthe invention, therefore do not represent any waste material.

Since the flaps or panels which upon erection, form multiple plylongitudinal separators, are located at diagonally opposite sides of thesheet blank, waste of material is further reduced. In other words, thepaper board material, from which the adjacent sheet blanks initially arecut, are generally symmetrically opposite with respect to one another,that is to say, the adjoining sheet blanks, upon being severed from acontinuous length of sheet material, roughly interfit one another, withan attendant saving in material.

A further objective has been to provide a bottle carrier havingtransverse separators, in which the carrier is designed for ultimatesimplicity in the application of adhesive and in folding the blank toits final position ready for erection, whereby the flat sheet blank maybe erected by machine operations, if desired, to form the flat carrierready for erection.

After gluing and folding, the carrier in its flat knockdown condition isready for shipment and may be erected for use at the bottling planteither by machine operations or by hand.

Various other objectives and advantages of the invention will be morefully apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detaileddescription in conjunction with the drawings.

DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a six-pack carrier in erectedcondition, constructed according to the principles of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross section, taken along line 22 of FIG. 1, showing theinternal construction of the carrier, particularly one of the transversebottle separators which extend at right angles to the longitudinalpartition.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a completed carrier formed from the blank, withthe several panels adhesively assembled, but in a flat, knock-downcondition prior to erection of the carrier as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the carrier in the flat, knock-down stateas projected from FIG. 3, but in partially erected condition.

FIG. is a top plan view of the completed carrier in its fully erected orsquared position as taken from FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of the preformed blank, as viewed from the insidesurface, showing the adhesive areas which are located on the surface ofthe blank.

FIG. 7 is a view generally similar to FIG. 6, showing the first step inthe folding of the blank and also disclosing certain of the adhesiveareas on the outer surface of the blank.

FIG. 8 is a view generally similar to FIG. 7, showing the second step inthe folding and gluing of the blank, leading to the formation of theknock-down carrier shown in FIG. 3.

SIX COMPARTMENT CARRIER (SIX-PACK) Described generally, the carrierconstructed according to the principles of the invention, is indicatedgenerally at 1 (FIGS. l 5) and comprises a sectional bottom indicatedgenerally at 2 in the views noted. Rising from the bottom, there is apair of end walls 33, also of sectional construction rising from thebottom 2, with a pair of side walls 44 also rising from the bottom 2.The bottom 2, the end and side walls 3 and 4 and the other components ofthe carrier are delineated by score lines and lines of severance formedin the paper board sheet blank, as explained later with reference toFIG. 6.

The various score lines form lines of weakening impressed into the paperboard blank and are also called fold lines in the specification. Thelines of severance also noted in the specification, refer to cut-outsformed in the blank, severing portions of the panels and flaps andpermitting these parts to be hinged about the fold lines.

The carrier, which has been selected to illustrate the principles of theinvention, is arranged for confining a group of six bottles, the bottlesbeing segregated from one another by a longitudinal partition orseparator 5 and by transverse straps indicated generally at 6 which forma part of the transverse separators, as explained later. Thelongitudinal separator panels 5 and the transverse straps 6 divide thecarrier body (in the present example) into six individual cells orbottle compartments arranged to keep the individual bottles fromcontacting one another with the consequent marring or chipping of thesurfaces of the bottles where they would normally come in contact withone another during transport and handling. The separators, bothlongitudinal and transverse, as noted earlier, are delineated in thesheet blank (FIG. 6) by score or fold lines and lines of severance andthus form an integral part of the blank.

Rising upwardiy from the longitudinal separator panel is a handle ofcomposite construction, indicated generally at 7 for transporting thecarrier. The handle includes a hand grip opening 8 for convenience incarrying the container.

As noted earlier, the carrier may be fabricated from a paper board offiber board material or in some cases, other materials such as plastic.

It will be noted at this point that the transverse straps 6, areintegral with the longitudinal composite separator 5 and side walls 4 ofthe blank 10 (FIG. 6), as explained later. In general, each transversestrap 6 rises from the side walls 4 4 and joins the handle 7 on oppositesides of the longitudinal partition 5. The straps 6, loosely divide thecarrier into the six compartments, normally leaving the lower portionsof the bottles free to rattle and contact one another, causing theminute chipping and wearing effect on the bottles.

According to the present invention, the blank 10 includes transversebottle separators 11 or partitions which extend downwardly to a planeclosely adjacent the bottom 2 of the carrier so as to provide fullprotection of the bottles. As best shown in FIG. 2, each separator i1extends transversely through the longitudinal separator 5 andconstitutes two sections indicated at 12 and 13 so as to delineate theindividual bottle compartments or cells 14. In the present instance,three cells 14 are provided on each side of the longitudinal separator 5(FIG. I). The segregated bottles are in dicated in broken lines at 15 inthe cells 14 (FIG. 5).

As noted earlier, in the present structure, the upper portion 16 of eachseparator 11 is attached adhesively to one of the transverse straps 6 atone side of longitudinal partition 5. The upper portion 16 forms a partof the separator section 13, as shown at the left in FIG. 2. Theopposite separator section 12 simply projects freely into the carrier,being unattached to the strap 6 with which it is associated. In otherwords, the separator section 12 is severed from the blank, and uponerection of the carrier, springs or flips to its extendedbottle-protecting position without requiring any gluing operations.

This construction represents a substantial saving in material; makes thecarrier easier to erect from its blank condition; and also facilitatesmanufacture of the carrier by the elimination of certain gluing andfolding operations, as explained later.

CARRIER BLANK (SIX-PACK) Referring to FIG. 6, the bottom of the carrier,previously indicated at 2, comprises the two bottom panels 17 and 18delineated by the scoreline 20 at the lower edge of the blank. Thebottom panel sections 17 and 18 are subdivided by an intermediate scoreor fold line 21 for purposes of erection, as explained later. I

An adhesive flap 22, delineated by the crease or scoreline 23 projectsfrom the upper edge of the blank, as shown in FIG. 6. As explainedlater, the flap 22 is adhesively secured to an edge portion of bottompanel 18 to form the bottom of the carton during erection.

The side wall panels, previously indicated at 4 4, rise from the bottom2 along the scorelines 20 and 23. The corners of the containerdelineated by the score or fold lines 24 24. The end walls 3 comprisepairs of end wall panels 25 and 26 and are diagonally locatedcounterparts hingedly joined to the side walls 4 along the scored foldlines 24 so that the end walls 3 are joined to the side walls 4. Thescorelines 24 thus form the corners of the carrier.

It will be noted that the fold lines used throughout the blank eachinclude a series of spaced severance lines indicated at 27 to improvethe folding or hinging effect.

It will be noted in FIG. 6, that the composite longitudinal separator 5comprises two panels 28 which are counterparts diagonally located withrespect to the blank and joined to the end wall panels 26-26 along thescored fold lines 30-30, to complement one another in erection. Thelongitudinal partition panels 28 28 upon erection of the carton, aredisposed in face-to-face relationship and are secured togetheradhesively (FIG. 1), as explained later.

Each partition panel section 28 (FIG. 6) includes severance lines 31 andscored fold lines 32 configurated to form the transverse separators,previously indicated at 11 (FIG. 1). Upon erection of the carton (withthe components adhesively secured to one another), the separators 11hinge about the fold lines 32 while the separator proper pulls loosefrom the panel 28. As noted with reference to FIG. 2, the portion 16 ofeach separator is adhesively secured to one of the cross straps 6 aspart of the section 13 of the separator. Accordingly, the separatorhinges about the scorelines 32 and flip automatically to theirtransverse position (FIGS. 4 and 5), the section 12 being unattached andextending in cantilever fashion across one side of the carrier as noted.The direction of movement of the parts is indicated by the arrows inFIG. 4.

The handle section, previously indicated at 7 is of multiple plyconstruction, comprising the two panels 33 33 and 34 34 (FIG. 6). Thepanels 33 and 34 are separated from the blank by the cuts or severancelines 35 35. The two panels 33 33, which combine to form the multi-plyhandle include an intermediate scored fold line 36 about which thesections 33 33 hinge during erection.

The panels 34 34 are delineated by the severance lines 37 37 and by theright angular scoreline 38. The sections 34 are separated from oneanother by the longitudinal slot 40 coextensive with the fold line 36.It will be noted that the transverse straps 6 are also separated fromthe blank proper by the severance lines 37, portions of which are curvedas at 41 to form the upwardly curved edge portions 42 of the end walls 3(FIG. 1).

The hand grip openings 8 (FIG. 1) are formed in pairs in each of thehandle-forming panels 33 and 34. The openings 8 are arranged to registerwith one another to form the single hand grip 8 upon folding anderecting the carton, as shown in FIG. 1. It will be noted in FIG. 6,that the openings 8 of the handle-forming panels 33 each include a flap43 foldable relative to opening 8 along the scoreline 44 and serving toreinforce the handle 7.

As viewed at the left-hand side of FIG. 6, there is provided an openslot providing clearance for the several plys of the longitudinalseparator 5 and handle 7 upon erection. The right side of the blankincludes a strap 46 which, upon erection, is interposed between thesections of the composite handle to connect the end walls 3 to thehandle 7.

The outer edges of the diagonally located end wall panels 25 eachinclude a glue flap 47 47 outlined by the previously describedscorelines 30 30. The opposite diagonal end wall panels 26 26 include amating glue flap 48 48, similarly outlined by the scoreline 30 andforming a part in each case of the partition panel sections 28 28. Theglue flaps 47 and 48 reside in facial engagement with one another uponerection of the carton.

Each of the glue flaps 47 and 48, at their outer edges, are notched outto form a spur 50. When erected, the spurs 50 reside in registry withone another at the lower edges of the end walls 3 3 (FIGS. 1 and 4) andprovide a snap engagement with the semi-circular cut-out portions 51formed in the central portion of the bottom 2. The snap engagement ofthe spurs 50 support the bottom 2 of the carrier and hold the carrier inerected position as shown in FIGS. 1,4 and 5.

ADHESIVE AREAS As shown in FIG. 6, the handle-forming panels 33 and 34,on the inner face of the blank are coated with an adhesive as indicatedby the stippled areas 52 52 and 53 53. In addition, the glue flaps 47and 48 on the exposed outer surface of the blank also are provided withadhesive areas 54 and 55, the partition panel sections 28 and glue flaps47 being shown folded inwardly from the flat blank to expose to view theadhesive areas (FIG. 8). The connecting strap 46 extending between theright hand partition panel section 28 and end wall panel 3 also includesan adhesive area 56 on the inner surface (FIG. 6) and on area 57 on theouter surface (FIGS. 7 and 8).

In order to secure the bottom panel 18 to the bottom flap 22, anexternal portion of the bottom flap 18 is similarly provided with anadhesive area 58 on its outer surface (FIGS. 7 and 8). The upper endportion 16 of each bottle separator 11, which is adhesively secured toits cross strap 6 is similarly coated with adhesive 60 60 as indicated.

The blank shown in FIG. 7, which exposes, in part, some of the externaladhesive coated surfaces, is shown in the position assumed during thefirst step in assembling the carrier, in which the glue flap 47 to thelefthand side is shown folded inwardly and over upon the handle-formingpanel 33. The right-hand longitudinal partition panel 5 is shown in FIG.7 being folded inwardly upon the inner face of the blank, as indicatedby the arrow. The bottom panel 18 also is shown folded inwardly todisclose the adhesive area 58.

FIG. 8 discloses the second step in the formation of the carrier withthe hinged portions all shown folded inwardly upon the inner surface ofthe blank for adhesively securing the parts together.

After the various flaps and panels of the blank are secured together,the blank is assembled but remains in knockdown condition as shown inFIGS. 3 and 4. At this stage the erection procedure is completed bypushing the end walls 3 in the direction indicated by the arrows in FIG.4, thus spreading the sidewalls 4 outwardly and squaring up the carrier.1

After being squared (FIG. 5) the spurs 50 engage the semi-circularnotches 51 of the composite bottom to complete the erection. It will beunderstood that the blanks preferably are assembled and adhesivelysecured by automatic machinery, although the same operation may, ofcourse, be carried out by hand.

After the components are secured, the blanks preferably are transportedin the flat knock-down state (FIG. 3) and may be erected as shown inFIGS. 4 and 5 at the bottling plant.

ERECTION After glue has been applied to the areas 52 61, as previouslynoted, the carrier is ready for erection. During erect ion from theblank form of FIG/6, the glue flaps 47 and 48 and the longitudinalseparator panels 5 are folded inwardly upon the blank (FIG. 7), thusexposing the adhesive area 55 which is applied to the outer surface ofthe glue flap 47. In FIG. 7, the longitudinal panel 5 and glue flap 47on the left-hand side of the blank are shown completely folded over uponthe inner side of the blank, while the corresponding parts on theright-hand side are shown in the act of being folded in, as indicated bythe arrow.

As noted earlier, these parts are hinged along the scorelines 30, aspreviously described. As shown by the arrow in FIG. 7, the panel 34which forms one ply of the handle, is also folded along its scoreline 38to overlie its mating panel 33.

When the first folding operation is completed (FIG.

8), the adhesive areas 54, 55, 57 and 61, which are applied to the outersurface of the blank, are exposed outwardly in order to secure themating components to one another.

It will be understood at this point that the strap 46, with its adhesivearea 57, will be folded in between the panels 34 34 which make up thecomposite handle to be adhesively secured thereto. The strap 46 thussecures the end walls 3 to the composite handle along the right-handside of the carrier as viewed in FIG. 8.

After the several panels have thus been folded along their respectivescorelines to the position of FIG. 8, the two halves of the blank arefolded over upon themselves along the scoreline 36 (FIG. 8), the glueflaps 47 and 48 on diagonally opposite sides of the blank (FIG. 6) nowbeing in face-to-face registry, such that the spurs 50, forming a partof the diagonal end wall panels mate with the spurs 50 (two-ply at thisstage) of the glue flaps along the vertical line 62 (FIG. 1) which formsthe juncture between the end wall sections and also provides theconnection with the longitudinal panel. As the blank is folded uponitself along the scoreline 36, the adhesive area 58 of panel 18 comesinto face-to-face contact with the bottom flap 22, thus making up thebottom of the carrier.

As the partially folded blank is doubled upon itself from the positionof FIG. 8 to the position of FIG. 3, the upstanding portions 16 of thetransverse separators 11 are brought into facial engagement with thetransverse straps 6 which connect the side walls 4 4 with thelongitudinal separator 5, thus securing the fixed separators sections 13to the straps 6, while the second section 12 of each separator is free.As noted earlier, the transverse separators 11 are free to hinge alongthe fold lines 32, the free portion 12 of the separator 11 beingseparated from the partition panel 28 along the lines of severance 31.

When folded and adhesively secured in this manner, the carton blankassumes the state shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 (shown partially expanded forclarity) with the composite end walls 3 3 bent angularly in the samedirection and with the side walls 4 parallel with one another andparallel with the longitudinal separator 5.

In order to erect the assembled flat blank (FIGS. 3 and 4), pressure isapplied from opposite ends, as shown in FIG. 4, whereby the angulatedsections of the end walls 3 spread the side walls 4 outwardly in togglefashion. During this action, the cross straps 6, which are parallel withthe end walls, also pivot by toggle action from the flat position towarda right-angular position. During this motion of the cross straps, theupper portions 16 of the transverse separators 11, which are glued tothe straps 6, hinge the separators 11, causing the free sections 12 ofthe bottle separators, which are severed from the longitudinal partition5, to hinge about their fold lines 32, thus causing the free portions 12to swing to a right-angular position as indicated by the arrows in FIG.4.

In the fully erected position (FIG. 5), the end wall sections 3 andstraps 6 are disposed at a right angular position, while the free edgeportions 12 of the separators project outwardly in cantilever fashion todelineate the individual cells of the bottle carrier. It will be seentherefore that the transverse separators 1 1 are hingedly connected tothe longitudinal separator panel 5 (scorelines 32) and are additionallysecured by the adhesive connection of the uppe'r portion 16 of theseparator to the cross straps 6. The separators 11 thus are securelyattached to the cross straps 6 and longitudinal separator 5 and theirfree edge portions project in cantilever fashion into the compartment atone side of the carrier to form cells for separating the bottles.

The toggle action of the bottom sections 17 and 18,

now secured by the two-ply spurs 50, holds the carrier in its erectposition ready for use. It will be understood at this point that theangular upper edge 63 of the separators 11 provide a camming action withrespect to the bottles in the event the free cantilever portions 12 arenot completely squared when the carrier is erected. In other words, asthe bottles are inserted, their bottoms first contact the upper angularedge 63 then, in sliding downwardly along the angular edge 63,progressively force the separator 11 to the correct right angularposition relative to the longitudinal partition 5.

Moreover, the angular line of separation, as defined I by line 63, addsto the material connecting the composite handle 7 to the longitudinalseparator or partition 5 since a minimum of material is removed. Thisarrangement preserves the strength of the composite handle which bearsin tension the weight of the loaded carrier.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. In a collapsible carrier of the type having cells for segregatingbottles and similar articles from one another, the carrier having abottom, a pair of side walls and a pair of end walls rising from thebottom, and a longitudinal partition rising from the bottom of thecarrier and extending medially of the carrier between said end walls,the improvement comprising at least one pair of foldable cross strapswith one strap being connected between said longitudinal partition andone side wall and the other strap being connected between saidlongitudinal partition and the other side wall, said straps lying in acommon plane and extending transversely from said longitudinal partitionwhen the carrier is in the fully erected attitude, and

at least one one-piece transverse separator defined by fold andseverance lines in said longitudinal partition, said transverseseparator having one section secured to one strap of said pair on oneside of said longitudinal partition, and having another section whichcooperates with and to swings free relative to the other strap of saidpair on the other side of said longitudinal partition, the two sectionsof said separator lying in the plane of said longitudinal partition whenthe carrier is collapsed and lying in the plane of said pair of strapswhen the carrier is erected, and the'two sections of said separatorbeing non-foldable relative one to the other,

the interconnection of said separators one section with said one strapcausing said separators other section to move between the plane of saidlongitudinal partition and the plane of said other strap as the carrieris moved between fully collapsed and fully erected attitudes so as tosubdivide the carrier into individual bottle segregating cells onopposite sides of the longitudinal partition.

2. The improvement for a collapsible carrier as set forth in claim 1wherein said separators sections pivot about a fold line that isvertically oriented in said longitudinal partition relative to saidbottom when the carrier is moved toward the fully erected attitude fromthe fully collapsed attitude.

3. The improvement for a collapsible carrier as set forth in claim 1wherein the other section of said transverse separator includes an upperedge that angles downwardly toward its associated side wall from saidlongitudinal partition, said edge cooperating with the bottom portion ofa bottle inserted into the erected carrier to cam that other section toa right angular position relative to said longitudinal partition if saidother section has not been established in the plane of said other strapupon erection of the carrier.

4. The improvement in a collapsible carrier as set forth in claim 1wherein said end walls comprise panels foldably joined to said sidewalls, said end wall panels having glue flaps foldably connected to theend wall panels adjacent the free edges thereof, and said glue flaps ofthe end wall panels secured to said longitudinal partition, andincluding a handle portion rising above and connected with saidlongitudinal partition, said handle portion being of at least two-plyconstruction and embracing the opposite sides of said longitudinalpartition, and said end wall glue flaps being disposed between thehandle portion's plys and secured thereto, such allowing the carrier'sweight load to be supported by the handle portion and transmittedthereto by said end wall panels glue flaps so as to relieve said crossstraps of the carrier's weight load.

5. The improvement in a collapsible carrier as set forth in claim 4 inwhich said cross straps are defined by severance lines and fold linesformed in the plys of said handle portion and side walls.

6. The improvement in a collapsible carrier as set forth in claim 4wherein said improvement is embodied in a sheet blank from which thecarrier is adapted to be constructed.

7. A one-piece sheet blank adapted to form a collapsible carrier of thetype having cells for segregating bottles and similar articles from oneanother, said blank comprising a bottom panel hingedly connected to theblank by fold lines,

a pair of side wall panels hingedly connected to the bottom panels byfold lines,

two pair of end wall panels hingedly connected to the vertical carriercorner edges of said side wall panels by fold lines, one of each pairbeing connected to each vertical carrier corner edge of said side wallpanels,

a longitudinal partition panel hingedly connected by fold lines to anedge of each of two of said end wall panels, said two longitudinalpartition panels being attached to those end wall panels that arediagonally opposite one from the other on the blank,

a plurality of cross straps hingedly connected at one end to said sidewall panels by fold lines and adapted to be hingedly connected at theother end to said longitudinal partition panels by gluing, said strapsbeing arranged so that when the blank is fully erected into carrierconfiguration said straps will be paired with one of each pair extendingtransversely from one side of said longitudinal partition panels and theother of each pair extending from the other side of said longitudinalpartition panels in a common plane, and

at least one one-piece transverse separator defined within eachlongitudinal partition panel, each transverse separator being delineatedby lines of cutting and folding and being hingedly connected to itslongitudinal partition panel by said fold lines which are formedsubstantially medially of the transverse separator, and each transverseseparator providing a first and second section located on opposite sidesof and extended transversely relative to said longitudinal partitionwhen the blank is fully erected into carrier configuration. I

8. A sheet blank'as set forth in claim 7 in which each separators firstsection only is adapted for gluing to one cross strap of an associatedpair, and each separators second section is interconnected only withsaid longitudinal partition panels and is adapted for free swingingmovement about said separato'rs fold line into a common plane with theother cross strap of that associated pair as the blank is erected intocarrier configuration.

9. A sheet blank as set forth in claim 8 in which the second section ofeach transverse separator includes an inclined upper edge adapted tocooperate with the bottom portion of a bottle inserted into a fullyerected carrier formed from the blank so as to force said second sectionto a right angular position relative to said longitudinal partition.

10. A sheet blank as set forth in claim 8 including handle panelsinterconnected by fold lines with said longitudinal partition panels,said handle panels being adapted to embrace said longitudinal partitionpanels therebetween when the blank is glued .into carrier configuration.

11. A sheet blank as set forth in claim 7 including two pair of saidcross straps, thereby providing three cells on each side of saidlongitudinal partition when the sheet blank is erected into carrierconfiguration.

12. A sheet blank, as set forth in claim 7, folded and glued intocarrier configuration.

1. In a collapsible carrier of the type having cells for segregatingbottles and similar articles from one another, the carrier having abottom, a pair of side walls and a pair of end walls rising from thebottom, and a longitudinal partition rising from the bottom of thecarrier and extending medially of the carrier between said end walls,the improvement comprising at least one pair of foldable cross strapswith one strap being connected between said longitudinal partition andone side wall and the other strap being connected betweEn saidlongitudinal partition and the other side wall, said straps lying in acommon plane and extending transversely from said longitudinal partitionwhen the carrier is in the fully erected attitude, and at least oneone-piece transverse separator defined by fold and severance lines insaid longitudinal partition, said transverse separator having onesection secured to one strap of said pair on one side of saidlongitudinal partition, and having another section which cooperates withand to swings free relative to the other strap of said pair on the otherside of said longitudinal partition, the two sections of said separatorlying in the plane of said longitudinal partition when the carrier iscollapsed and lying in the plane of said pair of straps when the carrieris erected, and the two sections of said separator being non-foldablerelative one to the other, the interconnection of said separator''s onesection with said one strap causing said separator''s other section tomove between the plane of said longitudinal partition and the plane ofsaid other strap as the carrier is moved between fully collapsed andfully erected attitudes so as to subdivide the carrier into individualbottle segregating cells on opposite sides of the longitudinalpartition.
 2. The improvement for a collapsible carrier as set forth inclaim 1 wherein said separator''s sections pivot about a fold line thatis vertically oriented in said longitudinal partition relative to saidbottom when the carrier is moved toward the fully erected attitude fromthe fully collapsed attitude.
 3. The improvement for a collapsiblecarrier as set forth in claim 1 wherein the other section of saidtransverse separator includes an upper edge that angles downwardlytoward its associated side wall from said longitudinal partition, saidedge cooperating with the bottom portion of a bottle inserted into theerected carrier to cam that other section to a right angular positionrelative to said longitudinal partition if said other section has notbeen established in the plane of said other strap upon erection of thecarrier.
 4. The improvement in a collapsible carrier as set forth inclaim 1 wherein said end walls comprise panels foldably joined to saidside walls, said end wall panels having glue flaps foldably connected tothe end wall panels adjacent the free edges thereof, and said glue flapsof the end wall panels secured to said longitudinal partition, andincluding a handle portion rising above and connected with saidlongitudinal partition, said handle portion being of at least two-plyconstruction and embracing the opposite sides of said longitudinalpartition, and said end wall glue flaps being disposed between thehandle portion''s plys and secured thereto, such allowing the carrier''sweight load to be supported by the handle portion and transmittedthereto by said end wall panels'' glue flaps so as to relieve said crossstraps of the carrier''s weight load.
 5. The improvement in acollapsible carrier as set forth in claim 4 in which said cross strapsare defined by severance lines and fold lines formed in the plys of saidhandle portion and side walls.
 6. The improvement in a collapsiblecarrier as set forth in claim 4 wherein said improvement is embodied ina sheet blank from which the carrier is adapted to be constructed.
 7. Aone-piece sheet blank adapted to form a collapsible carrier of the typehaving cells for segregating bottles and similar articles from oneanother, said blank comprising a bottom panel hingedly connected to theblank by fold lines, a pair of side wall panels hingedly connected tothe bottom panels by fold lines, two pair of end wall panels hingedlyconnected to the vertical carrier corner edges of said side wall panelsby fold lines, one of each pair being connected to each vertical carriercorner edge of said side wall panels, a longitudinal partition panelhingedly connected by fold lines to an edge of each of two of said endwall panels, said two longitudinal partition panels being attached tothose end wall panels that are diagonally opposite one from the other onthe blank, a plurality of cross straps hingedly connected at one end tosaid side wall panels by fold lines and adapted to be hingedly connectedat the other end to said longitudinal partition panels by gluing, saidstraps being arranged so that when the blank is fully erected intocarrier configuration said straps will be paired with one of each pairextending transversely from one side of said longitudinal partitionpanels and the other of each pair extending from the other side of saidlongitudinal partition panels in a common plane, and at least oneone-piece transverse separator defined within each longitudinalpartition panel, each transverse separator being delineated by lines ofcutting and folding and being hingedly connected to its longitudinalpartition panel by said fold lines which are formed substantiallymedially of the transverse separator, and each transverse separatorproviding a first and second section located on opposite sides of andextended transversely relative to said longitudinal partition when theblank is fully erected into carrier configuration.
 8. A sheet blank asset forth in claim 7 in which each separator''s first section only isadapted for gluing to one cross strap of an associated pair, and eachseparator''s second section is interconnected only with saidlongitudinal partition panels and is adapted for free swinging movementabout said separator''s fold line into a common plane with the othercross strap of that associated pair as the blank is erected into carrierconfiguration.
 9. A sheet blank as set forth in claim 8 in which thesecond section of each transverse separator includes an inclined upperedge adapted to cooperate with the bottom portion of a bottle insertedinto a fully erected carrier formed from the blank so as to force saidsecond section to a right angular position relative to said longitudinalpartition.
 10. A sheet blank as set forth in claim 8 including handlepanels interconnected by fold lines with said longitudinal partitionpanels, said handle panels being adapted to embrace said longitudinalpartition panels therebetween when the blank is glued into carrierconfiguration.
 11. A sheet blank as set forth in claim 7 including twopair of said cross straps, thereby providing three cells on each side ofsaid longitudinal partition when the sheet blank is erected into carrierconfiguration.
 12. A sheet blank, as set forth in claim 7, folded andglued into carrier configuration.